The Fantasy Football Sherpa

Congratulations to those who qualified for or advanced in their league’s playoffs as a result of the Week 14 games!  Now the fun begins.  Perhaps your team suffered an untimely injury last weekend (e.g. - Peyton Hillis).  Perhaps your team is heavily dependent on a star Running Back whose health is questionable (e.g. - Brandon Jacobs, Clinton Portis, Frank Gore).  Perhaps Matt Jones was starting at Wide Receiver for your team.  Perhaps you were relying on Gus Frerotte at Quarterback - well, maybe not (if so, it’s highly unlikely you’d be reading this) . . .

Whether due to injury, a poor matchup, or simply to block an opponent from snagging a player for their upcoming matchup with your team, for those whose league rules permit roster adjustments during playoff weeks, it’s crucial to optimize your matchups on a weekly basis.  Lose at this point, and your fantasy football season is likely over.  You don’t want to have to listen to leaguemates discuss fantasy football playoffs that no longer include you.

Here’s a list of recommended free agent/waiver wire pickups who may be available in your league.  I’ll no longer divide recommendations into Short Term, Long Term, and Speculative pickups - at this point, any player I list is recommended based solely on their next matchup (warning - this will make the lists much shorter than they’ve been in previous weeks).

Quarterbacks

Seneca Wallace, Daunte Culpepper.

Running Backs

Jamaal Charles, Ahmard Hall.

Wide Receivers

Bobby Engram, Brandon Jones, Brandon Stokley, Ike Hilliard, Steve Smith (NYG), Hank Baskett, Henry Douglas, Jordy Nelson.

Tight Ends

Donald Lee, Desmond Clark, Marcedes Lewis, Jerramy Stevens, David Martin.

Kickers

Josh Brown, Robbie Gould, Connor Barth, Dan Carpenter.

Defenses

Seattle, St. Louis.

Admittedly, we’re scraping the bottom of the barrel here in many cases, but frankly, there are far fewer viable options to choose from  at the end of the season if you’re taking just a one-week view.

Until next time,

The Sherpa

Welcome to “meaningful December football” - congrats to those of you who’ve already qualified for your league’s playoffs, and good luck to those who are still in contention and need a final victory this weekend to get your foot in the door.  On the injury front there were several “big names” who went out with injuries this past weekend (both football-related and self-inflicted) - QBs Derek Anderson & Trent Edwards, and of course, WR Plaxico Burress.  Anderson and Burress are both out for the season - actually, Burress’ career may very well be over - even in the NFL there isn’t much of a market for 34-year-old ex-cons, which is what Burress would be if he is convicted of illegal possession of a firearm and serves 3 years in prison.  Still, chances are you weren’t relying heavily on any of the three at this point, so hopefully the impact on your fantasy team is minimal.

Just in case you need to add a player this week due to injury, suspension, or a bad matchup, here’s a list of recommended free agent/waiver wire pickups who may be available in your league.  I’ll give an indication of whether I believe these players should be picked up for just the short term (ST), for the long term (LT) (i.e. - the rest of the season), or as speculation plays (SPEC).  Short term recommendations are players who should help fantasy owners this week (due to injuries, benchings, suspensions, favorable schedules, etc.) but who will probably drop in value again in subsequent weeks.  Long term recommendations are players who have the potential to help their owners’ fantasy teams for the remainder of the current season.  Speculation plays are players who are unlikely to help your fantasy team this week (barring injuries, benchings, suspensions, etc.) but may have value later this season or in future seasons (for those in Keeper leagues).

Quarterbacks

Kyle Orton (LT), Daunte Culpepper (LT), Marc Bulger (LT), Kerry Collins (ST), JaMarcus Russell (SPEC), Ryan Fitzpatrick (SPEC), J.P. Losman (SPEC), Matt Schaub (SPEC).

Running Backs

Patrick Cobbs (SPEC), Jamaal Charles (SPEC), Tashard Choice (SPEC), Kenneth Darby (SPEC)

Wide Receivers

Davonne Bess (LT), Josh Reed (LT), Bobby Engram (LT), Shaun McDonald (LT), Bobby Wade (LT), Brandon Jones (ST), Justin Gage (ST), Brandon Stokley (ST), Malcom Floyd (ST), Steve Smith (SPEC), Amani Toomer (SPEC), Mark Clayton (SPEC), Reggie Williams (SPEC), Hank Baskett (SPEC).

Tight Ends

Donald Lee (LT), Heath Miller (ST), Billy Miller (SPEC), Daniel Graham (SPEC), Desmond Clark (SPEC), Marcedes Lewis (SPEC).

Kickers

Jay Feely (LT), Joe Nedney (LT), Josh Brown (LT), Robbie Gould (LT), Garrett Hartley (LT), Connor Barth (LT), Jason Hanson (LT), Dan Carpenter (LT).

Defenses

San Diego (LT), Dallas (ST), Washington (SPEC)

Until next time,

The Sherpa

Not too many injuries of note this week, although those of you who were holding onto Laurence Maroney in hopes he would return later this season will undoubtedly be looking for another Running Back.

4 teams have their byes Week 8: Chicago, Denver, Green Bay, and Minnesota.  Unless you’re in a league that’s so competitive that team owners speculate on players with bye weeks, I’d avoid picking up anyone from any of these teams this week.

Here’s a list of players who are probably on a roster in your league and will need to be replaced because of the bye week if they’re in a starting lineup:

Quarterbacks

Kyle Orton, Jay Cutler, Aaron Rodgers

Running Backs

Matt Forte, Ryan Grant, Adrian Peterson

Wide Receivers

Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, Bernard Berrian

Tight Ends

Greg Olsen, Donald Lee, Visanthe Shiancoe

Kickers

Robbie Gould, Matt Prater, Mason Crosby, Ryan Longwell

Defenses

Chicago, Green Bay, Minnesota

Here’s a list of recommended free agent/waiver wire pickups who may be available in your league.  I’ll give an indication of whether I believe these players should be picked up for just the short term (ST), for the long term (LT), or as speculation plays (SPEC).  Short term recommendations are players who should help fantasy owners in the next few weeks (due to injuries, benchings, suspensions, favorable schedules, etc.) but who will probably drop in value again later in the season.  Long term recommendations are players who have the potential to help their owners’ fantasy teams for the remainder of the current season.  Speculation plays are players who are unlikely to help your fantasy team in the short run (barring injuries, benchings, suspensions, etc.) but may have value later this season or in future seasons (for those in Keeper leagues).

Quarterbacks

Matt Ryan (LT), Marc Bulger (LT), Matt Hasselbeck (LT), J.T. O`Sullivan (LT), Chad Pennington (LT), Jeff Garcia (ST), Kerry Collins (ST), Matt Cassel (SPEC), JaMarcus Russell (SPEC), Joe Flacco (SPEC).

Running Backs

Kevin Smith (LT), Jamaal Charles (LT), BenJarvis Green-Ellis (ST), Kevin Faulk (SPEC), Fred Jackson (SPEC), Patrick Cobbs (SPEC), Leon Washington (SPEC), Michael Bush (SPEC), Ahmad Bradshaw (SPEC), Ray Rice (SPEC), Maurice Morris (SPEC), Lamont Jordan (SPEC)

Wide Receivers

Antonio Bryant (LT), Greg Camarillo (LT), Josh Morgan (LT), Ted Ginn (LT), Steve Smith (NYG version) (LT), Mike Furrey (LT), Patrick Crayton (ST), Ike Hilliard (ST), Hank Baskett (SPEC), Chansi Stuckey (SPEC), Josh Reed (SPEC), Javon Walker (SPEC), Michael Jenkins (SPEC)

Tight Ends

Marcedes Lewis (LT), John Carlson (LT), Alex Smith (LT), Billy Miller (ST), David Martin (SPEC), Robert Royal (SPEC), L.J. Smith (SPEC), Vernon Davis (SPEC)

Kickers

Jason Elam (LT), Rian Lindell (LT), Josh Brown (LT), Rob Bironas (LT), Jeff Reed (LT), Neil Rackers (LT), Jason Hanson (LT), Taylor Melhaff (LT), Dave Carpenter (LT), Shayne Graham (SPEC)

Defenses

Tennessee (LT), Tampa Bay (LT), Buffalo (LT), Jacksonville (LT), Houston (ST), Indianapolis (SPEC), Oakland (SPEC), New England (SPEC), Washington (SPEC)

Until next time,

The Sherpa

Week 4 is the first (scheduled) bye week - 6 teams will be off this week:  Detroit, Indianapolis, Miami, New England, NY Giants, and Seattle.  Unless you’re in a league that’s so competitive that team owners speculate on players with bye weeks, I’d avoid picking up anyone from any of these teams this week.

Here’s a list of players who are probably on a roster in your league and will need to be replaced because of the bye week:

Quarterbacks

Peyton Manning, Jon Kitna, Eli Manning, Matt Hasselbeck

Running Backs

Joseph Addai, Brandon Jacobs, Julius Jones, Ronnie Brown, Laurence Maroney, Kevin Smith

Wide Receivers

Reggie Wayne, Plaxico Burress, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Roy Williams, Calvin Johnson,  Anthony Gonzalez, Marvin Harrison, Amani Toomer

Tight Ends

Dallas Clark, Anthony Fasano, John Carlson, Ben Watson

Kickers

Stephen Gostkowski, Adam Vinatieri,  Jason Hanson, John Carney, Olindo Mare

Defenses

New England, NY Giants, Seattle, Indianapolis

Here’s a list of recommended free agent/waiver wire pickups who may be available in your league.  I’ll give an indication of whether I believe these players should be picked up for just the short term (ST), for the long term (LT), or as speculation plays (SPEC).  Short term recommendations are players who should help fantasy owners in the next few weeks (due to injuries, benchings, suspensions, favorable schedules, etc.) but who will probably drop in value again later in the season.  Long term recommendations are players who have the potential to help their owners’ fantasy teams for the remainder of the current season.  Speculation plays are players who are unlikely to help your fantasy team in the short run (barring injuries, benchings, suspensions, etc.) but may have value later this season or in future seasons (for those in Keeper leagues).

Quarterbacks

Gus Frerotte (LT), Brian Griese (ST), Kerry Collins (ST), Damon Huard (SPEC), Matt Ryan (SPEC), Brady Quinn (SPEC), JaMarcus Russell (SPEC)

Running Backs

Le’Ron McClain (LT), Correll Buckhalter (SPEC),  Jamaal Charles (SPEC), Jerome Harrison (SPEC)

Wide Receivers

Robert Meacham (LT), Ike Hilliard (LT), Brandon Lloyd (LT), Antonio Bryant (LT), Josh Reed (LT), Michael Jenkins (LT), Kevin Walter (LT), Hank Baskett (ST), Devery Henderson (ST), Lance Moore (ST), Antonio Chatman (ST), Jordy Nelson (SPEC), Chansi Stuckey (SPEC), Roscoe Parrish (SPEC)

Tight Ends

Zach Miller (LT), Marcedes Lewis (LT), Justin Keller (LT), Visanthe Shiancoe (LT), Bo Scaife (LT), Chris Baker (LT), Dustin Keller (LT), Jeff King (LT), Robert Royal (ST)

Kickers

David Akers (LT), Ryan Longwell (LT), John Kasay (LT), Neil Rackers (ST), Joe Nedney (ST)

Defenses

Tenessee (LT), Tampa Bay (LT), Philadelphia (LT)

Until next time,

The Sherpa